An EF-5 Tornado struck Joplin, Missouri, on May 22, 2011, with damage estimated at up to $3 billion. Yet Joplin has seen a rapid recovery despite the extensive damage. The Joplin tornado provides an opportunity to determine if findings from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina apply to other major natural disasters. This study uses interviews… Read more
A collection of 13 reports on lessons learned from Hurricane Sandy related to health systems and services. The report’s first section includes and Executive Summary of each article. Common recommendations included filling gaps in planning, communication and coordination, more integrated systems, more practice and training between facilities, building in redundancies, clarifying authority, preparing for environmental… Read more
The Stafford Act constitutes the statutory authority for most federal disaster response activities especially as they pertain to FEMA and FEMA programs. In response to the to the evolving demands for federal disaster assistance, Congress has passed legislation to amend the Stafford Act to improve the role of the federal government in disaster assistance. Pre-1950… Read more
Immediately after disaster strikes, localities must quickly pull together disaster recovery teams and find funding for recovery efforts. Although any natural disaster can be devastating, community leaders can take a few strategic steps at the very start of post-disaster response to set the community up for immediate and long-term recovery success, allowing them to rebuild stronger… Read more
Disaster recovery can be a long, drawn-out process that takes a toll not only the community members, but also on local governments that have to provide routine services while also working to rebuild and restore the community. When disaster recovery exceeds the capacity of a local governments’ staffing capabilities and skillsets, consulting with a small,… Read more
Communities who have been through a presidentially declared disaster cannot stress enough the importance of detailed, proper record keeping systems from the day the disaster strikes, if not before. Use these tips to setup a record keeping system in your own locality that ensures compliance with FEMA documentation requirements. Have a well-defined system in… Read more
Following a natural disaster, most communities want as much information as possible from FEMA; yet communicating with FEMA is often a new process for local officials. Use these tips to help communicate with FEMA during funding disbursement. FEMA Public Assistance Coordinators (PAC) can be used to inform localities about special considerations such as insurance, hazard mitigation opportunities,… Read more
Distribute checklists outlining documentation and program requirements to homeowners. Encourage homeowners to photograph any and all damage before repairs begin, in addition to writing a description of damages. Make homeowners aware of all long-term funding opportunities as they are made available, especially HUD’s Community Disaster Block Grant Recovery Program.
Grantees must ensure that they are following proper documentation and program requirements in order to ensure that they are compliant with the CDBG-DR program. Yet this can be easier said than done. Staff managing the recovery process can be overwhelmed with additional work. Follow these tips to make sure that your program is able to… Read more
Following a disaster, public information officers, and local leaders, officials and staff will need to communicate with homeowners about FEMA Individual Assistance (IA). Homeowners can apply for assistance in recovering from a disaster through the FEMA IA program. First, let homeowners know about the availability of FEMA Individual Assistance. Following a disaster declaration, homeowners… Read more
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